A Destructive Decision
by TinyDancer14
Summary: His life ended all because of one destructive decision. Her dying wish was the only thing keeping him alive.


**Not every High School Musical story can be happy. I wrote this story, based on my own school's "SADD" day. It tells the tale of how Troy's life ended all because of one night. All because of one destructive decision. WARNING! It is a tear-jerker. I made myself cry writing this. And I don't cry, so you know it's bad. :)  
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** I don't own anything.**

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A Destructive Decision

"Troy, you wanna go next?" 19-year-old Brent Kessler asked the sandy-haired boy sitting parallel to him. Troy nodded.

Rubbing his eyes, he took a swig of water from the water bottle his advisors had so graciously provided. Taking the microphone from Brent, Troy looked out into the crowd of about seven-hundred high-schoolers. He remembered what it was like to be in that position. He wished it was where he was now. He wished it hadn't happened that way.

"My name's Troy Bolton and I'm eighteen. I started using when I was in tenth grade, and I killed my best friend."

Just admitting that made his eyes water.

Troy Bolton was enrolled in Goal House, a rehabilitation center for people coming off of drugs. Ever since tenth grade, he got involved with the wrong crowd. His parents got him the help he needed with this program.

Now he was visiting Johnson City High School for their "SADD Day," which stood for 'Students Against Destructive Decisions,' an acronym that stood for that night. The night that killed his friends and every nerve inside his body. He really had no reason to be alive.

"In tenth grade I was the basketball star. Everyone knew my name, everyone wanted to be friends with me, and I was on top of the world." Troy explained, looking down. "My parents were perfect and gave me anything I've ever wanted. I had good grades, nice friends, and went to a great school."

Jake Ryan, another peer of Troy's gave him a pat of encouragement on the back. Troy continued on reluctantly, not wanting to go through this anymore.

"I uh... I met this amazing girl on vacation in tenth grade." Troy looked over at a brunette standing not too far from the stage. She smiled at him and he returned it. "She was a beautiful girl and she could sing. Oh man, could she sing. She sounded like an angel. When she left I thought I'd never see her again. But then, I found out she went to my school, she had transferred, and I was ecstatic."

He took a short breath and wiped his already tearing eyes before continuing. "But after we gained roles in the musical, she starting going out with this other guy on my basketball team. I guess I was just so angry and so jealous that I had to deal with it in any way possible. So I met a few guys who smoked pot and started from there."

Sighing, he continued. "It just spiraled out of control after that. I started doing everything; drinking, smoking pot, popping pills, absolutely everything. My grades dropped, I never went to basketball, and my old friends abandoned me. Even the girl I had met on vacation told me I had changed and that she didn't like it. But I was so high I couldn't even understand what she was saying. I lost a powerful friendship."

The same brunette girl urged him on. "Go on, Troy. Don't stop it there."

He smiled at her again. She could be so nice sometimes. "A few months after school started in eleventh grade, I was suspended for possession of pot. When I came back, the girl who I thought had completely abandoned me came back into my life, saying that she wanted me to get help. I did, but only because of her. I liked her, and I would do anything to show that to her."

"My parents got involved and I was sent to rehab. After about four months I was back in school, thought to be clean and sober. But then, she came up to me one day crying. Her boyfriend, one of my best friends, had broken up with her. I didn't want to see her in pain, so to get back at my friend, I beat him up. I was suspended again, bouncing from school, to jail, to rehab. My life was in the gutter."

"But through all of this," Troy muttered, knowing he was getting to the hard part. "She stood by me. I began to call her my girlfriend and she didn't refuse the term. We were officially an item. And I was done with drugs. So I thought."

Holding back a sob, Troy began to tell the students about that night. The one night where everything ended. Not only his friend's lives, but also his own.

"My friend had a party one night, and we were all invited. There was a ton of alcohol and enough pot to last anyone a lifetime. But that's what ended my life. I made a bad decision. One I will never forget and always regret."

_-Flashback-_

"_Gabriella, try this... it's so good." A drunk Troy held out a cup to Gabriella, who watched him helplessly. _

"_Troy I thought you were done with drugs and alcohol! You promised me you'd stay sober! I thought I could get you to stay clean!" She whined, looking around for a party member who wasn't wasted._

_Chad approached the group, obviously sober. "Are you okay Gabby?"_

"_No. Troy's my ride home tonight and he's completely incapable of driving." _

"_I'll drive you home, Gabriella. I haven't had a drink all night. I have to take Taylor too." Chad offered._

"_Will you? Oh thank you!" Gabriella gave him a hug, but Troy did in fact notice this._

"_Wh-wh attt are youuu doinnggg mannn?" Troy slurred, his vision becoming impaired._

"_Troy, you're in no condition to drive. I'm gonna take Gabriella home tonight."_

"_Likee helll you're notttt. She'sssss my girllllfrienndd." _

_Gabriella seemed frightened, but Chad remained calm. "Troy, you've had too much to drink tonight. I'll be back in a little while to take you home, okay?"_

_Troy slumped down to the couch as he watched Gabriella, Taylor, and Chad climb into the car. Suddenly getting very angry, he ran to his vehicle and sped after them._

_Obviously very drunk, he ran every light and stop sign there was on the road that night. Luckily, it was almost three in the morning, and there was almost no one on the road. Except for Chad, Taylor and Gabriella._

"_Chad, watch out for that-!" _

_But Gabriella's warning was too late. Troy, unknowingly, crashed his vehicle straight into Chad's at the intersection near Gabriella's home. They had almost made it._

_Glass flew across the road and bodies were thrown from the car or crushed on the impact. Gabriella's piercing screams rang through the night and blood was splattered all over the road._

_Troy had no memory of what went on. It was as if he hadn't been a part in it, when really he had caused it in the first place._

_-End of Flashback-_

Troy was now crying. He wiped his eyes in a desperate attempt to continue. "Chad... he didn't make it. Chad was killed on impact. I had crashed directly upon his side of the car, and he had no chance of survival. Taylor and Gabriella had survived, though. Once I was sober I was allowed to visit them."

"I was then offered a choice. Goal House or Jail. I did go to jail, for six whole months, as a minor charged with vehicular manslaughter. But I came to Goal House afterwards to become sober." He took a deep breath as he came upon the next part. The hardest part. "It was Gabriella's dying wish."

_-Flashback-_

"_Troy," Taylor cried. "I'll be okay! I'm going to live! You need to see Gabriella. She's... she's not going to make it."_

_Hearing those six words killed Troy inside. He rushed to Gabriella's room in the Intensive Care Unit, only to see the most horrific scene he had ever witnessed._

_She was hooked up to seven different machines, all trying to keep her alive as long as possible. Dried blood was still caked on her face, and she was bandaged up like a Halloween mummy. Troy's heart broke in half as he saw the girl he loved lying there helplessly._

"_Gabriella... I'm so sorry for doing this to you. I can't believe I could've been this stupid. I hate myself for doing this."_

_Gabriella slowly and painfully lifted her weak gaze to look at him. "The only thing I can ask is why? Why would you get in a car and drive if you knew you were in no condition? How could you Troy? You killed Chad... and now you're killing me."_

_Troy started to cry. "I know. I was just so... high. So drunk... that I couldn't think. I didn't think about others. God, if I did, you wouldn't be here right now, Gabriella. You'd be in my arms, somewhere safe."_

_Gabriella didn't look away as she began to cry. "Well... now that's not ever going to happen."_

_Troy bent down and kissed her gently on the lips. "I'm so sorry," He sobbed. "I'm so so sorry..."_

"_Just promise me one thing, Troy," Gabriella whispered as she closed her eyes. Her body began to shut down and Troy knew this was the end._

_He took her hand. "Anything for you, Gabriella."_

"_Get clean, Troy. Get help, and become sober."_

_Before Troy could say another word, the pulse of her heartbeat stopped. Her calm breathing was no longer evident. Gabriella Montez was dead._

"_No... no Gabby. Don't go." Troy sobbed, falling to the floor. "I need you, Gabriella. I want you here with me."_

_Doctors rushed in, pushing him out of the way to clean up Gabriella's body. Troy remained where he was, watching as the nurses unhooked Gabriella from the machines and covered her with a white sheet._

"_Come back, Gabriella. I love you. I love you..."_

_-End of Flashback-_

Troy was now sobbing, heaving and coughing with every word. "It was the worst feeling in my life. Watching the girl I loved die right in front of my eyes. I killed my two best friends in the entire world. And most of all, I killed the only girl I ever loved."

Taking a deep breath and wiping his eyes, Troy noticed that some of the audience members were also crying. "As I sit here today speaking to each and every one of you, I want you to know that this is not how you want to live your life. Living each day regretting the moment you wake up. Stay clean, stay sober, and don't drink or use pot and drive."

The audience clapped wildly and Troy smiled weakly. By telling this story over and over again, it helped ease some pain and reached out to those who have ever thought about trying any kind of drug or depressant. Suddenly, a young girl raised her hand in the first row.

"Ah, I see we have a question." The brunette woman, Mrs. Nelson, exclaimed. "Go ahead miss."

"Uh, yeah. My question is for Troy. How did this incident affect your social life?"

Troy drew in a breath. "I still talk with Taylor every once in a while, but most of the time I'm alone. I don't have any friends. This whole incident just ended everything inside of me. I have no self-confidence and no social skills so I can't make friends even if I wanted them."

Feeling himself tear again, he began to blink them back.

"It ended Chad's life. It ended Gabriella's life... It ended my life. All because of one destructive decision."


End file.
